Stallville? Superman just won't fly until Warner Bros. lands a hero worthy of the franchise;

Daniel Fierman Additional reporting by Nancy Miller and Brian M. Raftery
Entertainment Weekly   03-21-2003

Byline: Daniel Fierman Additional reporting by Nancy Miller and Brian M. Raftery
Publication: Entertainment Weekly
Issue: March 21, 2003 No. 701
Publication Date: 03-21-2003
Page: 10+
Section: News & Notes

It has been a long, long time since anyone in Metropolis looked up in the sky and saw anything other than a bird or a plane, but it's in Burbank--where Warner Bros. has spent millions trying to get the Man of Steel airborne--that the shouts of "Where are you, Superman?" can be heard loudest.

The chorus has been building since last summer, when Wolfgang Petersen's long-gestating Batman vs. Superman was tabled in favor of separate Batman and Superman flicks, and a Superman script from Alias creator J.J. Abrams was greenlit with McG (Charlie's Angels) attached to direct. That decision--finally!--capped almost a decade of effort by the studio (owned by EW parent company AOL Time Warner) that began when it bought back the Superman rights from producer Alexander Salkind in 1993 (see sidebar, opposite page).

But last September, McG dropped out to direct Charlie's Angels 2, Brett Ratner (Red Dragon) was tapped to take over, and the project hit yet another rough patch. While Ratner--who is known for his strong relationships with actors--quickly convinced Anthony Hopkins to play Super Daddy Jor-El, he could get no further. The director flirted with Jude Law and Ashton Kutcher before offering the title role to Josh Hartnett (whom Petersen had wanted to play Superman in his film). Hartnett tried on the tights--and decided he didn't quite like the fit.

"The decision was a struggle. But I just never really wanted to play Superman," explains Hartnett. "It's probably the biggest [-budgeted movie] ever"--and because it was planned as a trilogy--"it was three films [over] 10 years or something like that. It was a bigger commitment than I was willing to make." Says Matthew Lillard, who is currently shooting a romantic thriller for MGM in which he costars with Hartnett: "[The Superman producers] grinded on him for frickin' three weeks when we were shooting this. We're glad the whole saga is over."

Hartnett's complaints are understandable--the character is iconic, the demand for three pictures is limiting, and the effect on a career is too uncertain. "This has been a very difficult movie to cast--it's a big role and the actor has to be able to play to two distinct roles," Ratner told EW. "It's a long commitment, but we've only offered it to one person so far. We are still in the process of evaluating the best candidate for the part, and we want to take the time to make sure that we get it right."

So now the director is auditioning Paul Walker, Brendan Fraser, and soap actor Matthew Bomer, the latter of whom screen-tested on March 7. While sources close to the production speculate that Ratner will choose between the high-priced Fraser and the all-but-unknown Bomer within weeks, that decision may not be enough to calm the controversy. Reports are circulating that the director has clashed with notoriously temperamental producer Jon Peters over his difficulties casting the movie. (Peters declined to comment for this story.)

The studio, meanwhile, is struggling to lower the budget--which one informed source says started at well over $200 million. (That staggering figure would make Superman one of the most expensive movies ever, and that's not counting all of the development costs--pay-or-play deals with Nicolas Cage and director Tim Burton made way back in the '90s, sets, script revisions--that the studio has already incurred.) While mounting a production of this scale sounds daunting, the potential rewards are immense: Ever since Burton's Batman earned $251 million in 1989, Warner has made a booming business out of franchises. The Matrix, Terminator, and Harry Potter all fall under its gilded umbrella, and Ocean's Eleven and Scooby-Doo--both of which have sequels in the works--are soon to follow. Behind the leadership of president Alan Horn (and executive VP Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who resigned on Sept. 3, 2002) the studio has successfully staked everything on building tent poles and exploiting the myriad revenue streams they offer.

"We are committed to not only making the best movie possible, but to meeting the expectations of the fans," says Warner Bros. president of production Jeff Robinov. "Putting together a movie of this size is complicated and you have to go through a process that takes time. But we'd rather take the time and do full justice to the legacy of Superman than rush our decisions based on some arbitrary timetable."

In other words, don't expect the studio to throw in the towel. And why would it? Done right, a franchise can mean everything: Spider-Man, for example, counted for a quarter of Sony's record-breaking domestic gross last year. "We're set to start production in August," confirms executive producer Andrew Davis. "We're still on track for a summer 2004 release. We just need our Superman." But who knew resolving that little detail would be even harder than leaping a building in a single bound? (Additional reporting by Nancy Miller and Brian M. Raftery)

[BOX]

Red Light, Green Light Why has Superman plagued Warner Bros. like so much kryptonite? You don't need to be Brainiac to figure it out. Here is an at-a-glance recap.

1993 Six years after the last Christopher Reeve Super- man film, Warner buys back the franchise rights.

1993-1997 Four screenwriters--including Clerks writer-director Kevin Smith--are hired to take whacks at the script.

1998 Warner greenlights Superman Lives with Tim Burton and Nicolas Cage, only to pull the plug in late 1998.

2001 Andrew Kevin Walker (Seven) turns in a draft of Batman vs. Superman; by 2002 Wolfgang Petersen signs on.

2002 Warner opts for J.J. Abrams' Superman instead, with Brett Ratner directing and Anthony Hopkins as Jor-El.

2003 Josh Hartnett turns down the lead role, but Ratner says he's still ready to go. Who will be his Man of Steel?